Report by Meggan O'Reilly
Despite Dublin’s substantial work rate and being rewarded a late penalty in the dying minutes of play, Offaly dominated much of the second half with a fine display of skill and ranged points to secure a spot in the Leinster Final.
Parnells GAA club in Coolock has now become a pitch of familiarity for Dublin’s performance as the Leinster Senior Camogie Semi-Final between Offaly took place here this afternoon.
The first half saw Dublin lead the way where their work rate and fitness along with support play which startled Offaly from the get go. Within the first 10 minutes of play Offaly had hit 4 wides in a row ,unlike Dublin who took their chances and scored 3 points from both Siobhán Kehoe and Orla Beagan who shared free taking duties.
It was in the 10th minute when Dublin struck Gold. Leah butler made a dart through the centre , giving a hand pass out to Orla began who’s childhood training of pulling on the ground came into play , and smashed the ball into the back of Offalys net.
Offaly’s heads dropped and important players like Michaela Morkan were kept quiet throughout the entire 30 minutes of play. This was all down to Miriam Twomey’s fearless attitude when battling up against Morkan. Twomey , although petite in appearance contained the heart of a lion today and was by far the leader of the pack .
At one stage during the game Dublin’s Doireann Mullanny made three magnificent blocks in a row to keep Offaly’s defenders in the corners. It was this motivation that the players needed to consistently drive forward. Goosebumps stood tall on many of the Dublin Supporters skin.The half time whistle blew and Dublin entered the changing room knowing that everything was in their control with the score board showing Dublin 1-05 Offaly 0-05.
While Dublin Continued their hassling , in the 45th minute Flannery was rewarded a long range free which unfortunately found its way into the back of Dublin’s net. Dublin responded with continuous scores from play from Beagan and Griffin. However as the minutes passed by Offaly continued tipping over the score board and brought Extra players into defence to smother Dublin’s attackers in order to defend their score line.
When all hope for winning seemed gone, Dublin were rewarded a late penalty in the 60th minute of play. It had to be a goal in order to bring some hope to the Dublin players and supporters , and indeed it was a goal. A well struck one too by Orla Beagan. Dublin were now down by 3 points and would need another goal in injury time to keep their dream alive of entering A Leinster final since their last one 10 years ago.
After 3 minutes of injury time the full time whistle blew and the score ended with Offaly 1-14 Dublin 2-08. It was a loss of 3 points and a chance of making history within Dublin Camogie again. Although Dublin lost by small margins they can be corrected which will be the aim for Dublin as they prepare for Championship in the coming weeks. We play, We Learn and We Grow.
Scorers for Dublin
Orla Beagan 2.4. (1.2 from frees)
Siobhan Kehoe 0.2 F.
Emma Flanagan 0.01.
Alex Griffin 0.1